At the meeting, the Hoboken Planning Board Attorney Ronald Morgan recommended the Planning Board deny the Monarch application due to ongoing litigation regarding the original 1997 developer’s agreement with the city.

“I am very pleased with the Planning Board’s decision to deny the application for the Monarch project,” said Zimmer in a release. “The actions of our special counsel hired by the city to defend our community’s interests were critical to this decision.”

Shipyard Associates is proposing to build two 10-story condo towers on a pier east of the Hudson Tea Building.

In March of this year, Hoboken filed a lawsuit to compel Shipyard Associates to construct recreational amenities such as tennis courts in the developer’s 1997 agreement with the city.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Morgan said that in response to that initial suit, Shipyard Associates filed a countersuit challenging the validity of the 1997 agreement.

Until those arguments are decided in court, Morgan said any action by the Planning Board would have to wait.

The city has posted an overview of the legal case with Shipyard Associates, including claims from both groups, on its website.

Due to the planning board voting to deny the application without prejudice, Shipyard Associates has a right to re-file its application, pending on the outcome of the litigation.

“This is a temporary stop to the process depending on the outcome of the court case, so the fight to protect our waterfront is not over,” stated Zimmer.

The project received approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in December 2011. Hoboken has requested a hearing from the Office of Administrative Law of the DEP decision approving Shipyard’s permit application.

A decision has not yet been made as to whether a hearing will be granted, city officials said.